paulaks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gore, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Chronic illness, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Cancer, Medical content, and Pregnancy
laurennom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, Murder, Medical trauma, Death, Cancer, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
stephanieluxton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It's basically 5 books in one as it rotates through five unrelated main characters and their experience with "the one".
There's a lot of little twists and turns and I found myself genuinely not knowing what was going to happen, which is rare and exciting.
The concept felt original, the pace was excellent, the characters all unique and colourful. The concept was well explored and it gives you something to think about. This would make a fantastic book club book.
It's both dark and wholesome.
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Mental illness, Death, Stalking, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual content and Cancer
One of the main characters is a serial killer whostalks and targets young women and kills them with a cheese wire. It's not too graphic but it's a thing.monique1316's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Infertility, Kidnapping, Murder, Cancer, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Pregnancy
read_with_loren's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Stalking, Terminal illness, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Death, and Medical content
effy's review against another edition
4.25
The multiple POVs did a really good job of building tension and keeping me itching to pick this book up. They were also really good at showing a variety of scenarios where Match Your DNA could impact people's lives.
I quite enjoyed that a number of the plotlines seemed somewhat open endings but in a way that felt like the natural conclusion to their stories, if that makes sense? The twist
Spoiler
that the system was hacked to create deliberate mismatches throws the rest of the story into an interesting light and I enjoyed that it was up to the reader to decide who were genuine matches.Graphic: Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Murder, Infidelity, and Cancer
leebeeloves's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Infertility, Gore, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Medical content, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Torture
Moderate: Bullying, Dementia, Rape, Violence, Fatphobia, Infertility, Child death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Cancer, Body shaming, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content
vereadsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“If you’ve got the opportunity to love someone as much as they love you, then grab it with both hands and hold on to it for dear life.”
This is my third book on my journey to read 5 books to see if I can trust gabby tastes. A simple DNA test is all it takes. Just a quick mouth swab and soon you’ll be matched with your perfect partner the one you are genetically made for.
That’s the promise made by Match Your DNA. A decade ago, the company announced that they had found the gene that pairs each of us with our soul mate. Since then, millions of people around the world have been matched. But the discovery has its downsides: test results have led to the breakup of countless relationships and upended the traditional ideas of dating, romance and love.
Now five very different people have received the notification that they’ve been “Matched.” They’re each about to meet their one true love. But “happily ever after” isn’t guaranteed for everyone. Because even soul mates have secrets. And some are more shocking than others…
“We have roughly 100 trillion cells in our bodies and inside each of them are two metres of DNA – if you unravelled them all, they’d stretch to the sun and back a hundred times.”
Sometimes a book catches my attention because it has a good concept. But it isn't well executed. That was my fear with this book. However, John Marrs manages to execute this concept very well.
The book seems like a collection of short stories surrounding the same theme: What if a DNA test could tell you who your soulmate is?
“It’s that feeling you don’t get when you’re around anyone else, like nobody in the world matters when you’re in their company. Like you and them are this one, solitary...thing... And no matter what crap the world throws at you, you can get through it because you have them on your side.”
The book intersperses 5 points of view that show us how this DNA test affects the lives of each of the characters, generating different and unique stories that explore all the what if...
“What if it turns out our DNA doesn’t Match?” “Then we’ll be mindful that maybe we’ll need to put more effort into our relationship. Like John Lennon said, ‘All You Need Is Love.’” “Yes, but he also said, ‘I Am The Walrus,’ so let’s not hold too much credence to his pearls of wisdom.”
The One explores the negative side of science and technology applied to relationships in the best Black Mirror style. If you have any experience with this tv show, you will know that the endings are not exactly happy.
Some points of view caught me from the beginning, and others gained strength towards the end. But each story left me thinking about how science and technology affect our way of interacting and relating.
“Maybe when you took it back to basics, that’s what love really was: just being there for someone when the sun rises and sets.”
An engaging psychological thriller with short chapters that favor reading fluency and brings to the table discussions about technology, love, relationships, and especially one of the moral dilemmas of science: Is it okay to play God?
Can I trust gabby tastes on thrillers?
Rock Paper Scissors ★★★☆☆
The Silent Patient ★★★★ ½
The One ★★★★☆
Graphic: Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Stalking, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Murder, Blood, Gaslighting, Cancer, Toxic relationship, and Violence
tenasadie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
Graphic: Grief, Infertility, Gaslighting, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Gore, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Toxic friendship
bethsbooketlist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The writing was maybe not the most literary but it really didn't matter. Every page had me gripped hook, line and sinker. Definitely reading more of this author in the future
Graphic: Child death, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis